What a portfolio site needs to do

You have a few seconds to show someone your style, then you want to make it easy for them to reach out. That sounds simple, but it's where a lot of portfolios go wrong. They're slow, they show too much, and the contact page is an afterthought.

What your site should include

  • A tight selection of your best work. Twenty great images will do more for you than two hundred good ones.
  • Galleries by type of work. Someone planning a wedding shouldn't have to dig through your headshots.
  • Photos that are properly sized. Good optimization keeps your images sharp while still loading quickly on a phone. It's one of the most important technical parts of a portfolio.
  • Your price range or a starting price. It saves you from conversations that were never going to go anywhere.
  • An inquiry form that asks the right things. Date, location and type of project cover most of it.

Client galleries and print sales

If you already deliver through a service like Pixieset, your site can simply link to it, and you don't need to rebuild that. Selling prints or artwork online is possible too. If that's a big part of what you do, look at my page on online stores.

Mistakes I'd avoid

  • Full-size camera files uploaded straight to the site.
  • Fancy animations that keep people waiting to see your work.
  • No mention of where you work, which also hurts you in local search.

What it costs

Usually the Professional package

$1,200

The Professional package usually fits, since it includes an image gallery or portfolio. A simple one to three page portfolio can start at $750.

It's a flat price, agreed before any work starts, and you can pay in 2 or 3 payments. See what each package includes.

See an example

See a sample creative studio site

That's a sample I built to show the style, not a real business. You can change its colors and fonts in my configurator.

Where I work

I'm based in Fernandina Beach and work with businesses on Amelia Island and in Yulee, Jacksonville and St. Augustine. I also work remotely with owners anywhere in the U.S., so you don't need to be local to hire me.

Common questions

Will my photos lose quality on the website?

They shouldn't look any different to your visitors. Images get sized and compressed for the web so they stay sharp and still load quickly.

Can I update my portfolio myself?

That can be set up, depending on the platform we choose. Tell me how often you expect to change things and I'll recommend what makes sense.

How much does a portfolio website cost?

Most fit my $1,200 Professional package, and simple portfolios start at $750.

Want a price for your creative website?

Tell me a little about your business and what you need. I'll send a flat-rate quote, usually the same day.

Get a free quote